Secretary of State Kate Brown on Monday ruled that the Independent Party of Oregon met the threshold to become a major party in Oregon by registering 5 percent of the electorate that voted in the last race for governor.

The chief impact of the ruling is that the Independent Party will now have its primary conducted by the state -- and paid for by taxpayers -- in 2016, just as the Democratic and Republican parties do. It also heightens the visibility of the party and offers the opportunity for an Independent candidate to gain public attention by running in a statewide primary.

There was one major caveat to Brown's ruling. The secretary of state said in a statement that the party has to "re-verify" its major-party status on Aug. 17 by showing that it still meets that 5 percent threshold. As of Feb. 2, the Independent Party had 108,742 members, just over the threshold of 108,739.

Given that the party has shown steady growth since its founding in 2007, the party is likely to continue to meet that threshold.

Sal Peralta, the Independent Party's secretary, said he was more concerned about whether the Legislature might try to remove the party's new status.

Peralta said the Independent Party now has a chance to ramp up its party-recruitment efforts and is looking forward to its new prominence. "I think it's great," he said. "From our point of view, it's nice to be so recognized."

One big sticking point is that Oregon law requires that candidates for a major-party nomination be registered in that party. Peralta said his party believes that provision is unconstitutional and would like to continue nominating candidates who may be registered in another party.

Peralta said the Independent Party also planned to open its primaries to the state's non-affiliated voters, who constitute more than 30 percent of Oregon voters.